BILL NUMBER: SB 374 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 28, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senators Steinberg, Hancock, and Yee
FEBRUARY 20, 2013
An act to amend Sections 30515 and 30900 of, and to add Section
27566 to, the Penal Code, relating to firearms.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 374, as amended, Steinberg. Firearms: assault weapons.
Existing law regulates the sale, carrying, and control of
firearms, including assault weapons, and requires assault weapons to
be registered with the Department of Justice. Violation of these
provisions is a crime. Existing law defines a semiautomatic,
centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable
magazine and other specified features and a semiautomatic weapon that
has a fixed magazine with a capacity to accept 10 or more rounds as
an assault weapon.
This bill would, instead, classify a semiautomatic, rimfire or
centerfire rifle that does not have a fixed magazine with the
capacity to accept no more than 10 rounds or
fewer as an assault weapon. The bill would require a person
who, between January 1, 2001, and prior to January 1, 2014, lawfully
possessed an assault weapon that does not have a fixed magazine,
including those weapons with an ammunition feeding device that can be
removed readily from the firearm with the use of a tool, to register
the firearm by July 1, 2014. By expanding the definition of a crime,
this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would require, on and after July 1, 2014, a Firearm
Ownership Record to be submitted, as specified, to the Department of
Justice for every firearm an individual owns, with prescribed
exceptions, including firearms purchased from a licensed firearms
dealer and documented by a Dealers' Record of Sale transaction and
assault weapons registered with the department. The bill would
authorize the department to charge a fee of up to $19 per transaction
for the submission of the Firearm Ownership Record.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 27566 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
27566. (a) On and after July 1, 2014, a Firearm Ownership Record
shall be submitted by prepaid mail or delivered in person to the
Department of Justice for every firearm an individual owns or
possesses.
(b) The following firearms are exempt from subdivision (a):
(1) Handguns purchased from a licensed firearms dealer and
documented by a Dealers' Record of Sale (DROS) transaction on and
after January 1, 1991.
(2) Rifles without detachable magazines and shotguns purchased
prior to January 1, 2014.
(3) Assault weapons registered with the department pursuant to
Section 30900.
(4) Firearms for which a Firearm Ownership Record has been
previously filed by the current owner.
(c) The department may charge a fee in an amount sufficient to
reimburse the department for the reasonable costs of maintaining the
Firearm Ownership Record program, but in no case more than nineteen
dollars ($19) per transaction to process the Firearm Ownership
Record. After the department establishes the fee amount, the
department may adjust the fee amount annually as necessary to cover
the reasonable costs of administering the program. The fees shall be
deposited into the Dealers' Record of Sale Special Account.
SEC. 2. Section 30515 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
30515. (a) Notwithstanding Section 30510, "assault weapon" also
means any of the following:
(1) A semiautomatic, rimfire or centerfire rifle that does not
have a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept no more than
10 rounds or fewer .
(2) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has an overall length
of less than 30 inches.
(3) A semiautomatic pistol that has the capacity to accept a
detachable magazine and any one of the following:
(A) A threaded barrel, capable of accepting a flash suppressor,
forward handgrip, or silencer.
(B) A second handgrip.
(C) A shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely
encircles, the barrel that allows the bearer to fire the weapon
without burning the bearer's hand, except a slide that encloses the
barrel.
(D) The capacity to accept a detachable magazine at some location
outside of the pistol grip.
(4) A semiautomatic pistol with a fixed magazine that has the
capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
(5) A semiautomatic shotgun that has both of the following:
(A) A folding or telescoping stock.
(B) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action
of the weapon, thumbhole stock, or vertical handgrip.
(6) A semiautomatic shotgun that has the ability to accept a
detachable magazine.
(7) Any shotgun with a revolving cylinder.
(b) The Legislature finds a significant public purpose in
exempting from the definition of "assault weapon" pistols that are
designed expressly for use in Olympic target shooting events.
Therefore, those pistols that are sanctioned by the International
Olympic Committee and by USA Shooting, the national governing body
for international shooting competition in the United States, and that
were used for Olympic target shooting purposes as of January 1,
2001, and that would otherwise fall within the definition of "assault
weapon" pursuant to this section are exempt, as provided in
subdivision (c).
(c) "Assault weapon" does not include either of the following:
(1) Any antique firearm.
(2) Any of the following pistols, because they are consistent with
the significant public purpose expressed in subdivision (b):
MANUFACTURER MODEL CALIBER
BENELLI MP90 .22LR
BENELLI MP90 .32 S&W LONG
BENELLI MP95 .22LR
BENELLI MP95 .32 S&W LONG
HAMMERLI 280 .22LR
HAMMERLI 280 .32 S&W LONG
HAMMERLI SP20 .22LR
HAMMERLI SP20 .32 S&W
LONG
PARDINI GPO .22 SHORT
PARDINI GP-SCHUMANN .22 SHORT
PARDINI HP .32 S&W LONG
PARDINI MP .32 S&W LONG
PARDINI SP .22LR
PARDINI SPE .22LR
WALTHER GSP .22LR
WALTHER GSP .32 S&W LONG
WALTHER OSP .22 SHORT
WALTHER OSP-2000 .22 SHORT
(3) The Department of Justice shall create a program that is
consistent with the purposes stated in subdivision (b) to exempt new
models of competitive pistols that would otherwise fall within the
definition of "assault weapon" pursuant to this section from being
classified as an assault weapon. The exempt competitive pistols may
be based on recommendations by USA Shooting consistent with the
regulations contained in the USA Shooting Official Rules or may be
based on the recommendation or rules of any other organization that
the department deems relevant.
(d) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall
apply:
(1) "Detachable magazine" means an ammunition feeding device that
can be removed readily from the firearm without disassembly of the
firearm action.
(2) "Fixed magazine" means an ammunition feeding device contained
in, or permanently attached to, a firearm in such a manner that the
device cannot be removed without disassembly of the firearm action.
SEC. 3. Section 30900 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
30900. (a) A person who, prior to June 1, 1989, lawfully
possessed an assault weapon, as defined in former Section 12276, as
added by Section 3 of Chapter 19 of the Statutes of 1989, shall
register the firearm by January 1, 1991, and any person who lawfully
possessed an assault weapon prior to the date it was specified as an
assault weapon pursuant to former Section 12276.5, as added by
Section 3 of Chapter 19 of the Statutes of 1989 or as amended by
Section 1 of Chapter 874 of the Statutes of 1990 or Section 3 of
Chapter 954 of the Statutes of 1991, shall register the firearm
within 90 days with the Department of Justice pursuant to those
procedures that the department may establish.
(b) Except as provided in Section 30600, any person who lawfully
possessed an assault weapon prior to the date it was defined as an
assault weapon pursuant to former Section 12276.1, as it read in
Section 7 of Chapter 129 of the Statutes of 1999, and which was not
specified as an assault weapon under former Section 12276, as added
by Section 3 of Chapter 19 of the Statutes of 1989 or as amended at
any time before January 1, 2001, or former Section 12276.5, as added
by Section 3 of Chapter 19 of the Statutes of 1989 or as amended at
any time before January 1, 2001, shall register the firearm by
January 1, 2001, with the department pursuant to those procedures
that the department may establish.
(c) A person who, between January 1, 2001, and prior to January 1,
2014, lawfully possessed an assault weapon that does not have a
fixed magazine, as defined in Section 30515 and including those
weapons with an ammunition feeding device that can be removed readily
from the firearm with the use of a tool, shall register the firearm
by July 1, 2014, with the department pursuant to procedures
determined by the department.
(d) The registration shall contain a description of the firearm
that identifies it uniquely, including all identification marks, the
full name, address, date of birth, and thumbprint of the owner, and
any other information that the department may deem appropriate.
(e) The department may charge a fee for registration of up to
twenty dollars ($20) per person but not to exceed the actual
processing costs of the department. After the department establishes
fees sufficient to reimburse the department for processing costs,
fees charged shall increase at a rate not to exceed the department's
actual precessing processing costs. The
fees shall be deposited into the Dealers' Record of Sale Special
Account.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.